Painter and printmaker Christopher Brown was born in Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in North Carolina, USA, in 1951. At an early age he began taking weekend classes in art from a neighbor after his parents relocated to Ohio, and his mother recognized his interest in painting. When Brown was thirteen his family moved to Illinois where his father took a position as a student-health director at University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, and when he was of age Brown himself attended the same school, graduating with his B.A. in 1973.

Brown then moved to Davis, California, to attend UC under Theibaud, Wiley, De Forest, Arneson, and other leading California artists. After his first year, he was awarded a grant by the Univerity of Illinois to study in Europe, where he lived for a year in Spain and Germany. Following this, he completed his studies at Davis and graduated in 1976. A variety of teaching jobs in the Central Valley ensued and in 1978 he relocated to San Francisco. 

From 1981 to 1994 Brown served as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, as well as Chair of the department from 1990 - 1994. He was awarded NEA grants in painting and art criticism (for Artweek Magazine, Oakland), and awards from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the Equitable and Rockefeller Foundations. He was granted a fellowship by the Deutches Akademisches Austausch Dienst in Germany to study again in Munich; upon completion, he returned to the Bay Area. Brown currently lives and works in Berkeley, California.